


violet love

by ShirosRedKnight (SweetFanfics)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Business man Shiro, M/M, florist keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 15:29:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10947393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetFanfics/pseuds/ShirosRedKnight
Summary: Shiro’s breath catches as the man straightens up. He’s a couple of inches shorter than Shiro, shaggy dark hair with bangs that touch the middle of his dirt-smeared nose.  This guy is wearing the same apron as Hunk but is lacking a name tag. There’s a smear of dirt across his cheek as well which, rather than making the man look messy, makes him look utterly charming in Shiro’s eyes.





	violet love

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not entirely pleased with this but its done so /throws it @ y’all/ but man oh MAAAAAN HOW CUTE IS THIS ART? HOW PRETTY IS THAT KEITH? ME TOO SHIRO ME TOO IM SO SMITTEN TOO
> 
> [Reblog the art here](https://shirosredknight.tumblr.com/post/152087251995/maccalon-au-where-shiro-is-a-businessman-and) & [RT it here](https://twitter.com/potatoccalon/status/789112087486136321) and show the artist hella love!

Shiro’s half-way to the restaurant before it occurs to him that he ought to get Allura something. It would be impolite to show up at her ‘congratulations-you’re-taking-over-the-family-business’ celebration dinner without _some_ kind of present. The only problem is he’s got 20 minutes to decide and buy something.

 

Shiro stands in the middle of the sidewalk and glanced around him, hoping for inspiration to strike. There’s a coffee shop, a bakery, a drug store. Across the street, there’s a-

 

 _Flowers! Yes! Perfect!_  

 

Shiro jogs over to the quaint little store, apologizing to the few people he bumps along the way. Even as he crosses to the other side, Shiro’s already eyeing the selection displayed under the awning. The sunflowers are just about the only flowers he can identify, sitting on the second step in a large metal bucket, and he immediately decides no. There are some more long stemmed flowers that Shiro ignores. From the smaller selections, there are simple bouquets of yellow flowers, orange flowers, and some bright purple ones.

 

 _Where are the roses? Are they sold out?_ Shiro wonders, walking back and forth along the outside display in his search. _Is that an orchid? Would that work for a gift? Wait… aren’t they really hard to take care of?_

He’s still pondering the potted plant when a cheerful voice greets, “Hi there! Can I help you with anything?”

 

Shiro looks up and meets friendly dark eyes peering down at him. The man is wearing a dark brown smock on top of his orange shirt and is big and broad enough to take up most of the doorway in which he’s standing in. The name tag on his chest says ‘Hunk’. 

 

“Sir?” Hunk asks again, smile faltering just a little. “Do you need any help?”

 

With a small head shake, Shiro says, “Sorry. I was wondering if you’ve got any red roses?”

 

Hunk’s expression droops immediately, “Sorry, we ran out a while ago. We’re got some more mixed bouquets inside though! They’ll be just as good if not better.” Shiro nods, causing Hunk’s expression to perk up again. “Awesome! Come on in. I’ll show you what we’ve got.”

 

The first thing Shiro notices about the shop is that it smells less floral than he thought it would. The second thing he notices is that their selection seems to be an event split between potted plants and bouquets. There’s cacti, succulents, and long vined plants hanging from the ceiling. It creates a unique impression that doesn't mesh with Shiro's image of a florist.

 

“Are you looking for anything in particular?” Hunk asks, leading him in front of a three-step display that’s got nothing but mixed bouquets. “A prince range? Color? Is it a special occasion?”

 

“It’s a gift for my friend who just got promoted. And uh, nothing over $40.”

 

Immediately Hunk pulls out two sets, each of them with yellow roses as the main flower, “We’ve got these. How does your friend feel about yellow flowers?”

 

“Hates them,” Shiro grins apologetically.

 

Hunk immediately puts the flowers back and takes a step to the side, “Okay then. How about this one? It’s one of our more popular bouquets.” 

 

It’s got purple and pink flowers prettily accented by the long, broad leaves surrounding them. One look at them and for some reason, Shiro’s reminded of Allura. He finds himself nodding before he realizes it, “I’ll take it. Could you put a nice ribbon on?”

 

“Can do,” Hunk reassures him. “It’ll take me a couple of minutes to get this wrapped up. I’ll be right back.”

 

While Hunk gets the flowers ready, Shiro checks the rest of the shop out. He ponders getting a succulent or a cactus (his apartment could do with some greenery) before filing the thought away for a later time. Moving on, he checks some of the hanging pots, fingering the large leaves and admiring their glossy sheen. Maybe he could get one of these? They'd look nice in his kitchen.

 

Shiro’s leaning down to smell a particularly large bunch of red flowers when Hunk comes back, flowers wrapped up in brown paper and a lovely purple ribbon. “Here you go,” Hunk offers him the bouquet, “That’ll be $35. The counter’s over there.”

 

With a nod, Shiro heads towards the shop front. Holding the flowers in one hand, he pulls his wallet out of his back pants pocket. As he flips it open to check if he’s got enough bills, Shiro checks his watch as well. _Good, still got time_. He exhales in relief as he comes to a stop in front of the empty counter.

 

He glances over his shoulder to look for Hunk but the tall man is already gone. So Shiro leans forward to check on the other side of the tall counter. Sure enough, he can see a figure crouched in the shadows, busily working on something.

 

“Excuse me?” Shiro starts hesitantly. The figure starts, hard enough to bang their head against the underside of the counter. The ‘thunk’ing sound makes Shiro jump as well, wallet dropping onto the counter as he reaches over the wooden top exclaiming, “ _Shit_! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

 

A gloved hair scrubs the top of a dark head, followed by a low groan and a masculine voice saying, “’m fine. You just startled me.” 

 

Shiro’s breath catches as the man straightens up. He’s a couple of inches shorter than Shiro, shaggy dark hair with bangs that touch the middle of his dirt-smeared nose.  This guy is wearing the same apron as Hunk but is lacking a name tag. There’s a smear of dirt across his cheek as well which, rather than making the man look messy, makes him look utterly charming in Shiro’s eyes.

 

His eyes are shut in pained-irritation as he continues to rub his head, asking Shiro, “How can I help?”

 

Even though he can’t see, Shiro dumbly holds the flowers up, “Hunk said to pay here.” 

 

The crinkling sound of the paper has the florist opening his eyes, squinting at the flowers before looking up. His lovely violent eyes widen in clear surprise, mouth falling open. 

 

When soft pink begins to suffuse the shorter man’s cheeks, Shiro feels a soft ache in his heart. He wants to ask this guy for his name, number, and if he’d like to go out on a date. Shiro squeezes the bouquet in hand, gathering his courage.

 

But the sharp sound the crumpled paper makes causes the florist to start gently. He gathers himself quickly enough, banging a few buttons on the cash register before saying, “That’ll be $35.”

 

Right. Shiro tucks the flowers under his arm and pulls out two folded twenties. Their fingers brush as the money changes hands. As he rubs his thumb over the point of contact, Shiro wishes dearly the guy wasn’t wearing those stupid gardening gloves. Then he’d ha-

 

“I didn’t get dirt on you, did I?” the florist asks, holding a five dollar bill out. Shiro glances up in confusion. The man’s looking at Shiro’s hand, where he’s still rubbing his thumb against the lower side of his index finger. 

 

Shiro shakes his head immediately, flushing faintly, “No. I just uh.” He searches around for a reasonable enough explanation that isn’t ‘I was trying to hold onto the way your glove felt against my hand’. “Got an itch.”

 

He knows its a dumb excuse and Shiro knows that _he_ knows it too because the florist’s eyebrows shoot up in obvious, and amused, disbelief. Shiro feels his blush deepening as the man snorts, “An itch, huh?”

 

With a sheepish shrug, Shiro accepts the change held out to him and tucks it away in his wallet. Transaction complete, he knows he ought be on his way. If he hurries he’ll be able to make it to _Scorpia_ with five minutes to spare.

 

But his feet refuse to move. His hands slowly twirl the bouquet around. A voice in his head yells at him to stop dilly dallying and just freaking _ask for his name_! _Ask his name and then ask him out for coffee_!

 

“Do you like coffee?” Shiro winds up blurting out.

 

Taken aback by the sudden query, the florist blinks before nodding slowly. “Yes.”

 

“Would you like to get some with me when you’re free?”

 

A slow smile grows on the florists’ lips as he replies, “But you don’t even know me.”

 

Despite the fact that his heart is beating wildly and he’s feeling light headed, Shiro’s voice remains calm. Hopeful even as he replies, “I’d like too though. We could start with names?”

 

The florist laughs, low and sweet, head ducking. When he looks back up, Shiro finds himself sucking in a startled breath. Because the light hits the other man’s face, his eyes sparkle like gems. It also highlights his soft smile in a way that makes Shiro’s face turn hot.

 

When’s the last time he felt so smitten with someone else? Felt this kind of attraction towards another person? Shiro’s hard pressed to remember. 

 

“Keith,” the man says, rubbing his gloves against his torso before he tugs them off. He holds a hand across the counter. “My name is Keith.”

 

A grin breaks across Shiro’s face as he accepts the handshake, squeezing the warm palm in his grip, “Takashi Shirogane but everyone calls me Shiro. It’s nice to meet you.”

 

“You too,” Keith’s grip goes firm for a second before slacking. His fingers drag sweetly against Shiro’s palm as they pull away. “I guess we could do coffee now that we know each other.”

 

Openly hopeful, Shiro asks, “Yeah?”

 

Keith pulls open a drawer, rummages around in it. “I’m not sure about my schedule yet but…” He pulls out a card and pen and quickly scribbles a number on the back before sliding it towards Shiro. 

 

It’s a deliberate choice to make their fingers brush when Shiro accepts the card. He reads the number and tucks the card away in his jacket, smiling, “I’ll call you.”

 

As he starts to back up to the door, because Shiro wants to see Keith’s face as long as he can, Keith leans forward. Plants his elbows on the counter and says, “I’ll be expecting your call, Shirogane.”

 

“Shiro,” he corrects the other man.

 

Keith tilts his head, smiling again, “I’ll be waiting, Shiro.”

**Author's Note:**

> in hindsight why didn't i name this fic "love at first bloom"?


End file.
